


Cytokinesis

by Euterpe



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Bisexual Bella, F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluffy with a Side of Sprinkles, LET ME HAVE MY TAGS UNADULTERATED AO3, Out of Character, Romantic Comedy, Self-Confident Bella, frequent uses of the phrase "Strong Independent Woman", the gayest of the gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-10-19 00:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10628175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euterpe/pseuds/Euterpe
Summary: Of all the hilariously awkward manic-pixie-dream-girl-wannabes in Washington, if Frankie Cullen drank blood for sustenance, literally anything was possible. And then for some reason unbeknownst to her, Bella just accepted it.Or: if Edward had a chatty but incapable-of-functioning-around-cute-girls of a lesbian for a younger sister; if Bella Swan was a friendlier Strong, Independent Woman; and if Twilight was just this big gay romantic comedy





	1. Chapter 1

Bella Swan was raised to be rather skeptical about everything. If you told her that the weather in Forks would be sunny for more than fifty days out of the year, she'd probably laugh in your face and ask you if that meant vampires existed or some crap like that. Sometimes her skepticism alienated her from certain people, but she had a normal amount of friends and didn't need many more, thank you very much. Besides, it kept her grounded, and it was probably the one personality trait that would never fail her in times of distress.

Okay, well. Maybe that last part wasn't entirely true. As it turned out, vampires were very much real and very much residing in Forks, where it was sunny for less than fifty days out of the year ~~~~and nothing interesting apparently happened. Werewolves also existed; they were just as real as the vampires but considerably more alive (because duh). Bella wouldn't readily admit it, but it didn't take her as long as she thought it would to embrace that idea. She blamed Forks and everyone in itspecifically Frankie Cullen and her unwitting charms. Of all the hilariously awkward manic-pixie-dream-girl-wannabes in Washington, if Frankie Cullen drank blood for sustenance, literally anything was possible. What was stopping the moon being a big block of cream cheese?

Anyway, it came as quite the shock. And then for some reason unbeknownst to her, Bella just accepted it.

When people described Bella Swan, they never characterized her as wishy-washy or directionless. But really, that was all she was: gung-ho but go-with-the-flow. She just hid it very well behind a veil of obstinacy and frankness that people never questioned. Most called her self-confident, some called her rude, but Bella didn't ultimately mind as long as she got along with people.

The decision to move in with her father in Forks was entirely Bella's idea, actually. Just because she didn't really know what she wanted didn't mean she couldn't make her own decisions; in fact, most of her decisions were made with the good of others in mind. If Bella were the type of girl to brag about anything, she was the least selfish person she knew. Despite everything about her behavior that said otherwise, other people always came firstespecially Bella's mother, who probably couldn't survive a day alone in a zombie apocalypse (and probably not even in the normal world) but still deserved a chance at unhindered happiness with her new husband. Moving away seemed like Bella's most logical choice since it was beneficial on many levelsbesides, Bella hadn't seen her dad in a long time, and it would be nice to reconnect with him. Of course, she'd be leaving her friends in Phoenix, which was a definite drawback, but she could always make new ones, right?

Bella supposed it would be fair to say that she believed in whatever was the most logical. She was never a math person, but hey, she never said academics were her strong point.

Despite all her internal complaining, Bella didn't end up hating Forks. Sure, it took some (a lot of) adjustingher winter coat collection expanded, and apparently snow brushes were a thingbut Forks had this quaint small-town feel to it, and if you ignored the literal cloud of gloom that always hung over the area you could almost call it picturesque. It was certainly very green. Bella wasn't used to such concentrated foliage, and at times it was quite overwhelming, but she supposed she could learn to love it.

Charlie was every bit the awkward dad Bella remembered, albeit a bit wrinklier and wearier. He was highly untrained in the needs of teenage girls, but Bella could tell he was trying, and for her that was enough. On the car ride home from the airport, they made customary small talk ~~~~you know, _how was the flight_ and all that jazzand Charlie kept trying to say something but then deciding against it. Finally, he settled on "Feels great having you back, Bells," and Bella got the distinct sense that Charlie had been severely lonely the times she wasn't around.

"CharDad," she quickly corrected, "you know I'll be staying until at least graduation, right? You're not getting rid of me so soon."

If Charlie wasn't the wholesome chief of the Forks Police Department, he probably would have glanced at her from the driver's seat of his cruiser. As it was, he was the wholesome chief of the Forks Police Department, take it or leave it, so he kept both his eyes on the road. "There's the Bella I know," he chuckled, as if he didn't quite believe it until then. Bella smiled and asked him what his favorite sports team was.

It had been a long time since Bella had last lived with her father, and she had forgotten how unexpectedly thoughtful he could be. When they got home, there was a red pickup truck sitting in their driveway, and after Charlie explained the circumstances Bella thought for a moment that she'd cry. She probably thanked Charlie at least thirty times, to which he stammered several bashful  _you're welcomes_ and a few  _no problems_ _._

Bella found out very quickly that Charlie lacked even the most basic culinary skill after a brief stint with a pan of frozen lasagna and smoldering oven mitts. It would've been funny if Charlie didn't look so devastated. "No offense, Dad," said Bella from the kitchen corner she had retreated to, "but I think it'd be better for the both of us if I took care of the cooking. You should just focus on saving the world."

Charlie's mustache twitched. "Aw, shucks," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Forks is hardly the world, Bella."

"Don't sell yourself short, Chief Swan," Bella replied. She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and flopped down on it. "Forks is your world, and it'll be mine too. We need our trustworthy law enforcement to be ready to handle anythingjust maybe not the lasagna."

Charlie wiped his hands on his pants. "They grow up so fast," he sighed, probably knowing perfectly well that Bella could hear him. "Well, now that you're done making fun of my cooking, you wanna order some pizza?"

And so Bella settled into her new abode in this cold, dreary, semi-promising town. Her room had a computer, which was a bonus, and as she unpacked her suitcases she found some of her old clothes scattered on the floor of the closet. She left them in a box marked  _DONATE_ in thick, bold Sharpie.

Her first day at school was an adventure, to say the least. Bella hadn't considered the fact that she had never driven a car bigger than a sedan to be a problem, but it was. She had some trouble starting up the truck in the morning, and when she finally did she almost hit their mailbox backing out of the driveway. It was a good thing they didn't live on a major road. (Though in a town of this size, Bella wasn't sure if Forks even had roads that could be considered major.) Charlie watched her with his arm on the hood of his cruiser, trying (and failing) to hide a smile. "You sure you don't want me to drive you, Bells?" he called to her as soon as the truck was a harmless distance from the mailbox. 

Bella sighed. It was probably the best for her own safety and the safety of others that she didn't start taking the truck to the road until she actually got used to it. She didn't want her dad of all people to have to deal with an accident caused by his own daughter on her first morning in Forks. "Fine," she said, trying to maneuver the truck back into the driveway. "Damn it Dad, you're really not helping my budding reputation as a Strong, Independent Woman."

"Better your reputation than mine," Charlie replied. Bella grumbled, but in the end, she wasn't so sore about it when she realized that she didn't actually know the directions to her new school. She would've made an even bigger fool of herself, and God knows how that would have sat in her conscience.

No matter how small Forks High School was compared to her old one, stepping into foreign territory was always a daunting process. When Charlie dropped her off, Bella felt a bit like he was throwing her into a tank full of sharks ~~~~and of course, the constant rain didn't help. At least the administrators' office was warm ~~~~so warm, in fact, that the lady at the front desk was only wearing a t-shirt ~~~~but it did disappointingly little to relieve Bella's first-day jitters.

"Isabella Swan?" asked the receptionist in the t-shirt, briefly looking up from her computer. She probably recognized Charlie's cruiser pulling out of the parking lot.

Bella put on her best I'm-here-because-I-totally-wanted-to-be grin. "Yep. The one and only."

The receptionist blinked, slightly unimpressed. "Of course," she said. She pulled out a few sheets of paper and laid them out on the counter. "Here's your class schedule and a map of the school. I also need your teachers to sign this slip right here, which you can return to me at the end of the day." She highlighted a few routes on the map, and after a few more instructions she sent Bella out of the office and on her way.

Bella cursed whichever idiot architect who thought separating a school in the highest-precipitating town of the nation into several buildings was a good idea. The residents of Forks sure as hell weren't paying taxes to send their kids to school in the rain. After stalling a bit near the double-doors of the front office, Bella mentally slapped herself and shouldered into the cold drizzle. There were a few more students milling about in the parking lot, thank God, so she followed one of them to her first class.

English was only the tiniest bit awkward. People stared at her, of course, but Bella expected nothing less from a town where news was an anomaly. Her teacher, Mr. Mason, signed her slip and handed her a copy of  _The Catcher in the Rye_ , which she had already studied in sophomore year, but she kept her mouth shut and found a seat in the back of the classroom. Bella rubbed her eyes. At a loss, she pulled out an empty notebook from her backpack and pretended to take notes; in reality she was doodling a rendition of Van Gogh's  _Starry Night_ featuring ducks and UFOs. She was actually quite proud of it when the bell rang.

The boy to her left leaned across the aisle as he appraised her drawing. "That's sick," he whispered.

Bella snorted. "What, as opposed to healthy?" she asked, closing her notebook and sliding it in her backpack.

"Okay, you got me," said the boy. He smiled. "I'm Eric, by the way."

Bella shook his extended hand. "Bella Swan."

"I know," he said. "You're kind of a celebrity right now."

"Oh yeah?" replied Bella, raising an eyebrow. "Perfect. I'm the next Angelina Jolie, minus the beauty and the talent and basically everything else."

Eric laughed. He offered to show her to her next class, which she accepted.

Bella never had any qualms about making new friends in Forks: she wasn't antisocial, she had fairly normal hobbies, and she smelled okay. On the other hand, she found it mildly unnerving to be the center of attention everywhere she went, but she figured that feeling would pass as she integrated herself into the school community. In Trig, Bella met a chatty girl named Jessica, who apparently took it upon herself to become Bella's new best friend. She was a talking handbook on classes and gossip, which Bella found to be rather useful as she tried to keep up with Jessica's tiny but impossibly fast legs on their way to lunch.

At her new lunch table, Jessica introduced her to seven other kids so quickly that their names completely flew over Bella's head. Eric was one of them, which was a small comfort, but Bella had to ask Jessica to repeat everything twice before she was confident enough not to accidentally call Mike Newton "Mark Einstein" again.

Bella learned the hard way that the school cafeteria made absolutely horrible cheese ravioli. Angela Weber, who sat on her right, took pity on her and shared her peanut butter sandwich. "Better avoid anything in this school that has cheese in it," Angela said quietly. Bella thanked her profusely, and Angela's face grew pink.

It was inevitable that Bella would eventually notice the Cullens. They stuck out like six impossibly beautiful sore thumbs in the cafeteria, isolated from the sea of mundane high school students. They were so statuesque that they seemed unreal, all marble skin and angular features. In retrospect, the Cullens were very much real but very much not human, whichagain ~~~~was much easier for Bella to accept than it should have been. There really was no other fitting explanation for what they were. Like any other human, Bella felt a strange attraction to their mysterious beauty and mysterious aura, and at that moment in the cafeteria she was spellbound for the very first time.

Bella didn't realize she had been staring until Jessica poked her. She blinked. "What? Did I miss something?"

Jessica shook her head. "Hard to ignore, aren't they? The Cullens?"

Bella swallowed. "They sure are," she whispered.

"See," Jessica began, glancing around conspiratorially and lowering her voice, "the Cullens moved here a few years ago from Alaska. They're all foster siblings, but it's weird, 'cuz some of them are like, together-together. Like in relationships. But anyway, they were adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife, who are both like super young. The whole family's insanely rich, but they never talk to anyone else 'cuz apparently they think they're better than us. Well, some of them are okay, but I don't think they've ever made friends with anyone outside the family."

"Huh," said Bella, still trying to determine why she felt so entranced.

"Anyway, the girl with the short pixie cut is Alice Cullen," continued Jessica. "She's a couple with Jasper Hale, the blond guy. He and Rosalie Hale are twins ~~~~she's the blond girl ~~~~and Rosalie's a couple with Emmett Cullen, the really muscular guy. Edward Cullen is that broody guy with the reddish brown hair. He's not dating anyone 'cuz it seems like none of the girls are good enough for him. And the girl with the curly brown hair is Frances Cullen. She's like, less creepily perfect than the rest of them, but she's also not dating anyone."

"It probably wouldn't be a good idea to go say hi, wouldn't it?" asked Bella.

Jessica shook her head. "Not if you want your throat ripped out."

"Geez." Bella rolled her eyes dramatically. "It's not like they're vampires or anything, Jessica."


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so Bella wasn't perfect. She could be a little (very) obtuse at times, but in the end it worked out. Well, relatively.

Bella would not find out that she was Edward Cullen's singer until very later, but on that first afternoon in the biology classroom Bella felt that something was definitely wrong with him. 

"Um, are you okay?" she asked as she sat down next to him. Edward's eyes were frighteningly black as he leaned away from her, furiously covering his nose with his stupid marble hands. Bella exhaled in frustration. "Listen, I'm sorry if you hate my shampoo, but if you're going to be sick you'd better go to the nurse or something."

Edward stiffened. He glared at Bella as if she had grown two heads, but he shrugged and seemed to take her suggestion when he stood, grabbed his backpack, and left the room without a word to the dumbfounded teacher.

Bella stared at the door long after he was gone. She could not make sense of Edward's behavior, which gave rise to more and more questions ~~~~namely, _what the hell?_. She didn't understand what she had done to him to deserve such a hostile reaction. Perhaps Jessica was right and Edward Cullen was just an arrogant jerkface.

Before Bella could call Edward any other elementary insults in her head, the abandoned seat beside her was suddenly occupied. In her confusion, Bella hadn't even noticed there was another Cullen in the room, but here was the curly-haired one named Frances, pulling out Edward's lab stool with barely a squeak and situating herself upon it. "Sorry about my brother," said Frances. Her voice was higher-pitched than Bella had expected. "He's allergic to the strangest things, so it probably was something in your shampoo that triggered it. I swear he's not usually like that ~~~~you probably just took him by surprise."

Bella opened and closed her mouth. On one hand, she didn't quite believe what Frances had said, but on the other hand, she was relieved that someone was bothering to explain to her what had just happened. "Oh," she managed. "Well, I hope he's okay."

Frances laughed. It was a pretty sound. "Oh, don't worry about him. He'll be fine. He's probably overreacting anyway, but I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt your feelings." She smiled shyly. "Anyway, we're doing a lab today, and it wouldn't be fair to leave you without a partner. So what do you say? Wanna work together?" Frances looked like she was about to extend her hand for a handshake but instead thought better of it and ran it through her fluffy curls.

Bella looked from the Frances to the lab table and then back to Frances. "Uh, what about your other partner?" she asked, gesturing to the dark-haired boy in the back now sans partner.

"Oh, Sam? He's basically a genius, and he likes working alone anyway. Okay, between you and me, I think he hates my guts, so you'd be doing us both a favor if you just agreed. Well, only like, if you want to, of course, but still."

Bella's smile came surprisingly easily. "I don't know, it sounds like I'm being manipulated into saying yes," she said. She scooted over so that Frances and her oversized sweater would have more room at the table. "I'm Bella. Bella Swan."

"Frances Cullen. Call me Frankie, please. I can't stand it when people call me Frances."

Bella bit her lip.  _Oops._ Well, she'd keep that in mind for the future. "Okay, Frankie Cullen. Tell me what to do."

It became apparent that Frankie was, as Jessica had said, painfully smart. Bella was legitimately grateful that she had agreed to work with her ~~~~Bella wasn't the best at biology, and she probably would have broken a lot of lab equipment by herself. Frankie was so patient with explaining concepts Bella didn't understand that she wondered aloud, half-jokingly, if Frankie had ever worked with kids; it turned out that Frankie tutored children after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because of course she did.

Despite her academic prowess, Frankie seemed readily unsure of herself and hesitated often before she spoke. Bella got the distinct feeling that there was something she was hiding from her. Maybe it had to do with Edward, or maybe it was something else entirely. There was this awkwardness about Frankie that Bella would have never anticipated. It was rather far-fetched, but it was almost as if Frankie had a crush on Bella ~~~~every time they spoke, it felt like they were flirting, and there were times Frankie would look away in embarrassment. At this point, Bella might have just been projecting her bisexual hopes on a girl she found very attractive, which she didn't normally do, but there was something about Frankie Cullen that made Bella suspicious of how platonic her intentions truly were.

In the end, they were the last group to finish the lab because they were talking so much. Bella found that she didn't mind. The more she talked to Frankie, the less Frankie seemed like the unapproachable, mysterious, intimidating figure she was in the cafeteria. Frankie was cute, thoughtful, charming, andokay, totally Bella's type. She didn't know what she would've done if she had to work with stuck-up Edward instead.

"So, Frankie Cullen, my knight in shining armor," Bella announced in a purposefully horrible British accent, "now that you have rescued this fair maiden from the evil grasp of being dumb at biology, would you be so kind as to escort her to her next destination?" They were both standing at this point. Even though she had seemed so tiny in her giant rug of a sweater, Frankie was actually around an inch taller than Bella.

"I'm sorry, madame," Frankie replied in the same horrible accent, "but I seem to remember you boasting about your status as a Strong, Independent Woman not a few minutes ago."

Bella faked a cough. "Well, I believe that Strong, Independent Women remain Strong and Independent even when, and especially when, they recognize that they require the assistance of other Strong, Independent Women."

"I suppose ~~~~" Frankie paused to giggle. "I suppose you leave me no other choice but to fulfill my duty as a Strong, Independent Woman to you, Madame Swan, my fellow Strong, Independent Woman. Let us proceed to your next destination."

Bella opened her mouth, but she was interrupted by Mike Newton, one of Jessica's friends she had met at lunch. "Hi Bella, hi Frankie," he said, tugging on his backpack straps as he approached them. "Um, where are you guys going next?"

"Gym," Bella responded rather artlessly. Bella didn't hate Mike ~~~~he'd been very nice about her getting his name wrong those first few times at lunch ~~~~but she was a bit disappointed that he had interrupted her banter-thing-whatever with Frankie.

"Oh, cool! That's where I'm headed, too," said Mike. "Do you wanna walk together?"

"Actually, Frankie and I were ~~~~"

Frankie gave Bella a strange look before clearing her throat, effectively cutting off the rest of Bella's sentence. "Mr. Newton!" she continued in that fake British accent. "Would you care to join us on our journey to the gymnasium? Three's a company!"

Bella shook her head. God, she had only known Frankie for an hour and already she felt indebted to her or something. "Two's a company, Frankie. But she's right, Mike, we should all go together."

Mike looked a bit puzzled, but he nodded. On the way out the door Frankie winked at Bella behind his back, which Bella had no idea how to interpret.

Frankie, ever the chivalrous gentlewoman, actually had a class on the other side of campus. She dropped them off at the gym and headed straight in the other direction, speed-walking at an unnatural pace. As they watched her blaze a trail down the hallway, Mike chuckled. "You know, I've never really understood the Cullens, but I'll never understand that girl especially. I mean that in a good way, of course."

"Yeah," Bella nodded. Smiling, she turned around and headed into the gym.

"Uh, Bella?"

"Hm?"

"That's the boy's locker room."

Again, Bella never said she was perfect.

At the end of the school day, Bella returned to the administrators' office to hand in her paperwork when she spotted none other than Edward freaking Cullen talking to the receptionist. She tried not to eavesdrop, but he sounded rather frustrated, and Bella couldn't help but catch the gist of their conversation. Apparently Edward wanted to switch his biology class to any other period, and Bella was pretty sure she knew the reason why. She wondered if he had to be so rude about it ~~~~she probably would have shrugged it off if he had just explained his condition or whatever it was that he had. When it seemed like his pleas weren't getting anywhere, Bella took it as her cue to enter the office and walk to the front desk. "Hey Edward," she exclaimed, putting on her best smile.

For his credit, Edward ignored her completely. "Thank you for your time," he told the receptionist, and he exited the room as fast as Frankie had hightailed it to her next class.

Bella watched him leave for the second time that day. There was something so inherently strange about Edward and Frankie that probably said the same about the rest of their family. Well, whatever it was, she'd worry about it tomorrow.

"Did you enjoy your first day, Isabella?" asked the receptionist.

"Yeah," said Bella, surprised to find that she wasn't lying at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Edward Cullen didn't show up to school the next day. Bella would have concluded that he had successfully switched out of her biology class had she not noticed his absence from his table of imposing siblings during lunch. She had to admit that she was more than a little relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with him that dayeverything was going along so well, and she didn't want some jerkwad kid with some messed-up allergy ruining her good mood. On the other hand, she also had to admit that she was more than a little disappointed not to see Frankie perched anywhere among the flock of Cullens.

Mike Newton sat next to her at lunch that day. He was either really friendly or really attracted to Bella's purple ~~~~cardigan; he kept nudging her in the shoulder or brushing at some imaginary dust on her sleeve when they talked. Even though they had only known each other for a day, Mike was almost as touchy as Bella's mother, which was definitely saying something. He was kind of obvious, and it was kind of adorable, so Bella didn't comment on his lingering hand until she had get up to throw her trash out.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize," he apologized, grinning sheepishly and snatching his hand back to his chest. He looked like the kind of guy who would've scratched the back of his head nervously if his hair wasn't so painstakingly gelled.

Bella stood up with her tray. "No biggie. It's Aeropostale, if you really wanted to know. You should buy one for yourselfI bet you'd look great in purple." She took her time strolling to the garbage can, and when she came back Mike was still sputtering.

Okay, so maybe Bella could be cruel sometimes. She found it amusing whenever someone thought that she, of all people, was attractive in any way, shape, or form. She liked Mike ~~~~he was friendly and fun to talk to ~~~~but she supposed he was a little overbearing and also quite nosy. If they ever became a couple, Bella suspected they wouldn't exactly be equals in their relationship.

Bella didn't usually overanalyze everything. She preferred to live in and respond to the present, but relationships were a big deal for her, and she didn't want to enter one so casually. In freshman year, Bella had dated a boy named Peter for a few months. They had a lot of fun, and Bella might have even loved him, but she realized he was monopolizing too much of her time; she barely saw her friends at all. Her school life began to revolve around  _Peter Peter Peter_ until she became overwhelmed and more than a little unhappy. Peter, thankfully, understood. They ended it on friendly terms. In sophomore year, Bella dated a girl named Carly for a much shorter period ~~~~a few weeks, maybe. That relationship was a lot more bitter than sweet: since Carly insisted on staying in the closet, they hardly spent time together at all. When they did, Carly often got clingy, melodramatic, and overly upset whenever Bella disagreed with her. Bella felt guiltier and guiltier the more they met, and before long she broke things off. It was not on friendly terms. Bella wouldn't discover until later, when she was talking to her friends, that Carly was emotionally abusive. Bella stopped searching for people to date after that. It wasn't that she closed herself off to the possibility of dating ever; it was more that she just stopped giving in so easily to potential romantic advances.

That being said, she still loved teasing people. She was cruel; what else was there to say?

Mike and Bella walked to biology together. He had thankfully gotten over the cardigan comment, and he was telling Bella about his previous home in California. He wouldn't stop talking to her until she was settled into her seat and the bell rang, at which he yelped and scurried to his own seat with a quick goodbye.

Frankie Cullen glided into class a few minutes after it started, unperturbed. The teacher glared at her briefly and continued with his lesson. Bella raised an eyebrow at Frankie as she took the seat next to hers, but she kept her mouth shut until the teacher gave them some time to work on their worksheets  _independently_ , but like, whatever. "Where were you?" whispered Bella, scrawling out her name at the top of her worksheet at a ridiculously slow pace.

"Had some business to take care of," Frankie replied. 

"You can tell me if it's drugs. I won't judge you."

Frankie put on what was probably supposed to be a mock-offended expression. She looked kind of like a thirsty turtle, but Bella didn't tell her that. "Bella Swan!" Frankie gasped. "What kind of girl do you take me as? I would do no such thing."

Bella narrowed her eyes, about to stage an interrogation, until she realized how hypocritically nosy she was being. "Sure," she said, leaving it at that. 

Towards the end of the period, Bella was debating whether she should ask Frankie about Edward. On one hand, she didn't want to seem nosy again, but on the other hand, it would've been nice to at least ask after him. Luckily, she didn't have to decide for too long because Frankie beat her to it. "Edward's home sick," she said, "in case you were wondering. He'll be back in a few days."

Bella nodded. "Some allergies," she mumbled. "Did he end up switching out of our bio class?"

"Unfortunately, no," said Frankie, strangely unsurprised that Bella knew. Well, unless Edward told her, which he probably did. "On the bright side," she continued, "this means that our current seating arrangement is probably permanent since Edward has a medical excuse to stay away from you ~~~~shoot, that sounds horrible. I didn't mean it that way, I just meant that ~~~~"

"Relax, Frankie," Bella laughed. "I get what you mean. I'll be stuck with you until the end of the semester, is that it?"

Frankie grinned. "Well, don't sound  _too_ excited."

At dinner that night, Bella found out that Charlie had a strange affinity for spaghetti bolognese. Bella didn't understand ~~~~all she had done was cook pasta and put meat sauce on it ~~~~but Charlie called it the best spaghetti he had ever tasted and devoured the other two servings Bella was saving for tomorrow. It made her really wonder about Charlie's dietary routine, if something as simple as his daughter's spaghetti bolognese could trigger this hungry enthusiasm in her normally stoic father. "So how's school, Bells? You making any friends?" he asked between mouthfuls of pasta.

"It's actually been going pretty well," said Bella, twirling her fork in the meat sauce and drawing meaningless patterns. "I made a few friends, like Jessica Stanley, Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, Angela Weber..."

Charlie nodded. "All great people. The Newtons own the Olympic Outfitters store in town, you know. Honest, hardworking folks. Never got any trouble from them."

"Mhm. And I'm also talking a lot with one of the Cullens ~~~~Frankie, the curly-haired one," Bella continued, trying to gauge Charlie's reaction.

"Ah, the Cullens," he said almost fondly, putting down his fork. "Very well-behaved, all of them. Dr. Cullen is a very talented surgeon, and he does this town a great service."

Bella hummed in agreement. "They're a bit...strange, aren't they? Most of the kids at school tend to avoid them."

"What?" Charlie exclaimed, seemingly disturbed. "That's ridiculous. I don't see what's wrong with them. One of the nicest families I know, the Cullens."

"Huh." Bella wasn't sure what to do with that information. The fact that Charlie clearly respected them meant that the Cullens were good, right? They were perfectly normal people who were just a bit odd and secretive. Maybe it had to do with cultural differences or something. Jessica did say they moved here from Alaska, and who knows where they lived before that? Whatever it was, it surely wasn't Bella's business, so she changed the subject and asked Charlie if he wanted tacos for dinner tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Charlie took Bella driving in the pickup truck over the weekend. It was kind of embarrassing ~~~~they had to go to an empty parking lot and everything ~~~~but at least Bella became confident enough not to inadvertently destroy any more mailboxes, so it was ultimately a success. On Monday, Bella was finally able to drive to school by herself with relatively little problem. She did underestimate the size of her truck and almost scratched someone's Volvo in the parking lot, but luckily nothing actually happened, and when Bella pulled into a parking space she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

At school, it seemed that all people (well, really Jessica) were capable of talking about was the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance. Bella had never attended a Sadie Hawkins dance, but since she was the new kid, she didn't think she knew anybody well enough to ask them, so she originally resolved to skip. Unfortunately, Jessica was pretty adamant about Bella doing exactly the opposite. "You don't even have to have a date," she said to her in Trig. "Just, like, come with us. It'll be fun, yeah? Like a Forks initiation party."

"What, are you going to do the rain dance around me or something?" Bella deadpanned, twirling a pencil around her fingers.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Stop being difficult, Bella. Just go to the dance. You'll have fun, I promise."

Bella sighed. "I'll think about it," she huffed.

"Awesome!" Jessica squealed, then lowered her voice when she realized people were staring. "Angela and I are going dress shopping in Port Angeles next week. You should, like, totally come. And, uh, if you did end up asking someone," and with this she leaned in across the aisle, "you should ask Eric. I think he really likes you."

"Eric?" sputtered Bella. "Look, he's nice and all, but I don't think he  _really_ likes me. I mean, have you seen ~~~~"

"Listen, Bella. I have eyesI know Mike has a crush on you. But I was going to ask him to the dance, and if you wouldn't mind, could you like, ask someone else? Like Eric. I know he's not as obvious about it, but I swear he's got a thing for you too."

Bella held her hands up in the universal sign for surrender. "Well, I wasn't going to ask anyone in the first place, so you have nothing to worry about."

"You're the best," said Jessica, satisfied. "Oh, and can I see your notes from Friday? I fell asleep that period."

In Biology, Bella was only mildly surprised to see Edward Cullen sitting at a lab table next to that dark-haired boy named Sam, who completely ignored him. Edward looked as broody as he did last week, but at least he seemed like he got some sleep. He was talking to Frankie, who leaned opposite from him with her elbows on the table, and he actually smiled once or twice. When Mike left her alone, Bella approached them as cautiously as possible in case her shampoo triggered another allergic reaction, but to her surprise Frankie waved her over with a wide grin. "Bella!" she called. "You should meet Edward ~~~~properly, this time. He wants to apologize."

Edward nodded. "Yes. I'm very sorry about my rudeness last week. Despite what Frankie might have told you, it wasn't actually an allergic reaction; I had eaten something bad for lunch that day, and the smell of your shampoo nauseated me. Nevertheless, that does not excuse my completely inappropriate behavior. Please forgive me."

Bella blinked, bewildered. "Uh, it's fine, I guess?" she managed. "I mean, I'm sorry I made you sick, but like, you couldn't help it. So, like, we're cool."

"Perfect," said Edward. His eyes were golden today. All the Cullens' eyes were golden, now that Bella thought about it. It was almost...creepy, how golden they were. It wasn't an eye color Bella had ever seen before Forks. And to think that just a week ago, his eyes were pitch black...

"Great! Now that we've gotten that over with, you wanna go sit down or something?" asked Frankie. Bella glanced at herGod, how had she not noticed that Frankie's eyes were just as golden? ~~~~and suppressed an unsolicited shudder.

"Yeah, uh, we should do that," she sputtered. "It was, um, nice to meet you, Edward. You know, when you're not grossed out by me or anything."

Edward's lips curled up into what could almost be considered a smile. "Oh, I promise I'm not grossed out by you, Bella Swan. In fact, it's quite the opposite."

Bella opened her mouth and closed it, seriously unnerved. In lieu of a response, she nodded absently and waved a quick goodbye, retreating to her seat when the teacher slapped his meterstick against the edge of his desk to indicate the beginning of class. He started his lecture on DNA replication or photosynthesis or something ~~~~he could have been talking about _Dora the Explorer_ , for all Bella cared. She couldn't, for the life of her, pay attention to the lesson. Bella had this persistent uneasiness that she was being watched, but when she peeked behind her, all she saw were the top of Edward's head and the trace of a grimace.

When the bell finally rang, Bella discovered that she didn't understand a word of her notes. She sighed and poked Frankie in the shoulder, pressing against the fabric of yet another oversized sweater. "Hey," she whispered, "can you tell me, like, what exactly happened this period?"

Frankie furrowed her brow. "Yeah, but are you feeling okay? You were kinda out of it today. Do you need anything else, or...?"

"No, it's fine," said Bella. "It's just, I don't know. I feel like your brother doesn't like me very much."

"Oh," Frankie snorted daintily, if that was even possible. "That's what you're bothered about? Look, don't worry about Edward. I know he might not be the warmest mitt in the basket, but he doesn't really hate anyone. He's just not very easy to talk to, I guess."

"Warmest mitt in the basket?" interrupted Edward, approaching them and casually leaning against their table. Bella gulped. She wondered how much of their conversation he had heard. "I think you do me an injustice, dear sister. You're certainly no warmer than I am."

"You know I meant it figuratively, Edward," Frankie huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child, which Bella supposed she was.

Edward let out a breath through his nose that could loosely be interpreted as a laugh. He turned to face Bella. "As for you, Bella Swan," he said, his voice as smooth as velvet, "you haven't given me enough reason to hate you yet. You'd have to do something supremely stupid before I could even begin to dislike you." He paused to smile humorlessly. "Well, as it is, it'll be better for the both of us if we kept our interactions limited. Consider us acquaintances and no more."

Bella gaped. She was interrupted yet again before she could ask him what he meant. This time, Mike Newton's overwhelmingly cheerful face popped up behind her. "Hi Bella, hi Frankie," he said, all sunshine and rainbows. His face fell conspicuously when he noticed their companion. "Edward," he acknowledged, nodding curtly. When he looked back at Bella, he was smiling again, as if his mood had not just been completely soured. "You wanna start heading to our next period? The bell's going to ring in about two minutes. We'll be late."

"Oh my, look at the time!" exclaimed Frankie, attempting to emulate a tone reminiscent of Victorian England. It wasn't a good attempt. "Bella, you and Mike should go ahead. You don't want to deal with Coach Clapp, like, ever, but especially not when he's angry."

"You mean you're not coming with us?" asked Bella. She ignored whatever unnameable feeling that had died in her chest.

Frankie shook her head. "No, sorry. I have to have a word with Edward here," and she gestured toward him, "about family matters."

 _You live together. You can have a word with him literally any other time_ , is what Bella wanted to say. What she said instead was "Okay."

In retrospect, Bella had subconsciously began suspecting the Cullens since she had first seen them, and it only worsened after this interaction. She didn't keep it at the forefront of her mind until the morning after, when something happened that could not be logically explained.

Here was the short version: the perpetual wetness of Forks had frozen overnight. Bella had let herself cry at the snow chains Charlie had installed on the tires of her truck. She had driven to school, sniffling and sorry. When she had gotten out of her truck in the student parking lot, Tyler Crowley's minivan swerved in her direction, promising instant death. Out of seemingly nowhere, Frankie Cullen ~~~~slight, charming Frankie Cullen, forever bundled in giant sweaters and soft smiles ~~~~had darted in front of her and stopped the van, saving Bella's life.

Here was the long version: Bella didn't even have time to scream. When she dared to look up again, Frankie was standing before her, arms outstretched and eyes unblinking, like she was waiting to be swept up by a tidal wave. She didn't look like she was breathing. In that moment, Frankie was as otherworldly as ever, a stone angel carved by God's celestial chisel. It would have been magnificent if it wasn't so disturbing.

Frankie had left a distinctly girl-shaped dent in the bumper of Tyler Crowley's van. Bella blinked twice and promptly fainted.

She smelled the hospital before she saw it. When she was nine, Bella had broken her arm falling off of a jungle gym, and she had stayed in a hospital for days. The smell of disinfectant stayed with her, and she couldn't escape it even months after she had returned home. She could recognize it anywhere.

Bella was lying on a standard hospital bed in a private room with a blue ceiling. Her limbs were dead weights ~~~~it was a struggle to wiggle her toes. When her eyes were fully open, she turned her head, and to her left sat none other than Frankie, who looked considerably more alive than Bella felt. "Oh thank God," said Frankie. "I was beginning to think you would sleep forever." She lifted her hand as if she wanted to touch Bella's cheek, but she rested it on her shoulder instead.

Bella fought back an unreasonable pang of disappointment. "Frankie Cullen," she rasped, "you've got a lot of explaining to do, so if I were you I'd start now."

 


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't often that Bella felt as if she had no control over her life, but whenever she did, she drowned under the weight of unanswered questions and looming oppression. She would try her best to stay afloattread water, as Charlie had tried teaching her the summer she was eight ("It's easy, Bells. Just move your arms and legs like you wanna hug someone with your whole body.") ~~~~but who was she kidding? Bella didn't know how to swim.

Losing control was the worst feeling in the world. It bothered Bella to no end when she was forced to watch fate take the reigns and lead her life in an unknown direction. She felt a little like that as she sat up in her hospital bed and was immediately stricken by a pounding headache. In response, she groaned and shot a glare in Frankie's direction, who surveyed Bella like a doctor examining her patient.

After a stretch of distasteful silence, Frankie pursed her lips. "Well," she sighed, "what do you want to know?"

Bella gaped. Truthfully, she had been expecting more resistance. She gathered herself and cleared her throat. "Okay," she said, narrowing her eyes. "How the hell are you not dead right now?"

"Tyler Crowley stepped on the brakes just in time. His van barely scratched me," Frankie answered mechanically.

Bella snorted. "Bullshit. I saw the dent you left on his car."

Frankie shrugged. God, she was so infuriating.

"Fine," said Bella, "next question: you were standing at least, like, four cars away from me when it happened. How did you get there so quickly?" 

"I'm the secret reincarnation of Usain Bolt," Frankie replied with a mischievous smirk. 

"Who?"

Frankie coughed. "Nothing. Just a guy who's not even dead yet. Or famous, I guess." Under her breath, she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like  _Damn it_ _, Alice._

Bella squeezed the bedsheets balled in her fists. "Sure, whatever," she quipped. "That brings me to my final question: who are you? And what the hell?"

"Those were two questions."

"Shut up and answer me, smartass."

Frankie rolled her eyes, which were significantly darker than they were the day before. "Look," she said, "aside from the fact that you just contradicted yourself  _again_ , I'm in no place to tell you the truth right now. I know you suspect me, and I'm sorry for being such a dick about it, but it's kind of a secret that might hurt you if you knew. So, no, I can't. Answer you truthfully, I mean."

"So...what? Are you just going to tell me that there's something fishy going on and then leave me hanging?"

"Essentially, yeah."

Bella rubbed her temples furiously in the hopes of relieving her nagging headache. She was unsuccessful. "We're not done here, Frankie Cullen," Bella hissed. "When I get home, I will find out who you are ~~~~or what you are, evenand you will tell me the goddamn truth, whether you like it or not."

Frankie raised a rounded eyebrow. "Is that a promise?" she asked.

"It sure as hell is."

"Then I wish you the best of luck on your most fruitful journey, Bella Swan," said Frankie. When she grinned, she reminded Bella of a psychotic Samoyed, her mouth stretched wide over her pale, pale face. It would've been much more unnerving if Frankie wasn't so obliviously cute.

Bella opened her mouth to say something snarky when she was interrupted by a gray-haired doctor in a lab coat strolling into her room unceremoniously. "Good, you're awake," the doctor noted absently, jotting something down on her clipboard. Bella shut her mouth and continued to glare at Frankie as the doctor performed some basic examinations. Five minutes later, the doctor glanced at Bella wearily through her thin-framed glasses and declared that she was fit to go home.

"Well," said Frankie after the doctor had left the room. She smiled considerably less creepily. "You should go home and rest, Bella. I really wanted to introduce you to my dad, but surgeons are busy, and you kinda look like you're gonna pass out again."

Bella huffed petulantly, but Frankie was right. She hadn't noticed how tired she had gotten. If arguing with an obstinate puppy of a girl had worn her out so much, then she really needed to work out more. "I'm still very, very angry at you, Frankie," she grumbled, "but that doesn't change the fact that you saved my life this morning. So, uh. Thank you. For pulling whatever superhero shit you did."

Frankie looked like she was going to cry. Or scream. Or both. "You're welcome, I guess," she replied, her voice as soft as a butterfly's breath. "I mean, I couldn't just stand there and let a pretty girl die, could I?"

Later, when Charlie had picked her up in his cruiser and fussed over her anxiously as a single dad who had almost lost his only daughter should, Bella looked into the rearview mirror and found that she was still blushing. By the way things were going, she'd look like she had a permanent sunburn until she was fifty.

 


	6. Chapter 6

The attention-shy side of Bella despaired the next morning. Her near-death experience was the talk of the entire school. Thankfully, nobody had really seen Frankie jump in to save the dayexcept for Tyler Crowley, of course, who was so overly apologetic that he didn't even mention it. Well, Bella supposed that if she had almost run someone over, she'd also be begging for forgiveness, but not like, well, dragging herself on her knees behind them for the entire day. And Bella had thought Mike Newton was clingy.

"I'll do anything to make up for it," Tyler was rambling as he followed Bella to her lunch table, "I swear to God, I'll do anything. I'll do your homework, I'll go to the dance with you, whatever you need."

"Look, Tyler," said Bella for like the fiftieth time that day, "it was an accident, okay? We're both healthy and alive and you didn't kill me. You've said you're sorry, but there was literally nothing you could do. You don't need to make up for anything. Can we please drop it?" 

"But"

"Oh my God, Tyler, are you actually deaf or something?" snapped Jessica, who had been exasperatedly stewing in her seat. "Bella asked you to drop it, so drop it. Stop bothering us and go away."

Under the horrifying threat of Jessica's wrath, Tyler stumbled away without another word.

Bella collapsed into her seat and glanced at her friend appreciatively. "You didn't have to do that," she said.

"He was being annoying," Jessica responded, stabbing a plastic fork into her salad like it was Tyler Crowley's face instead of lettuce. It was disconcertingly intense.

Before Bella could ask her what was wrong, Mike plopped himself into a chair across from them. "Bella!" he exclaimed. "Thank God you're okay. I was so worriedeveryone keeps talking about how you almost died yesterday, and I heard you went to the hospital and everything. It's good to see you alive and breathing."

Jessica's vicious attack against her salad became ten times more extreme.  _Oh_ , thought Bella. "I need to go to the bathroom," she suddenly announced. "Come with me, Jessica." At Mike's dumbfounded expression, she quickly explained, "It's a girl thing," and without waiting for an answer she pulled Jessica out of the cafeteria and into the nearest bathroom.

"Mike rejected me when I asked him to the dance," Jessica confessed as soon as they were out of earshot. "He said he was going to think about it, which basically means he's waiting for you to ask him."

"Then he'll have to wait forever," said Bella. "I'm not going to ask him. I promised, remember?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," Jessica sniffed. "It's just, well, I've liked him since middle schoolyou can ask Angela, I used to gush about him over the phone all the time. And then you show up, and it hasn't even been a week, but already he's infatuated with you or something. I mean, if he didn't know you, I'm sure he would have agreed to going to the dance with me at least as a friend, you know?"

Bella gulped. What was she supposed to say,  _sorry I'm so attractive and the love of your life likes me better_? Bella Swan was many things, but she wasn't insensitive. "If it helps, I'll tell him I'm not interested," she said instead.

"That's not going to make him like me more."

"But once he realizes I'm not available, he'll stop hoping, and then you'll have a chance to win his heart or something."

Jessica visibly considered this. "You'd really do that for me?" she finally whispered.

"Of course I would!" said Bella, like it was stupid to think otherwise. "We're friends, aren't we? And besides, I'm really not interested in him."

Jessica wiped at her eyes. "Thanks, Bella."

When they got back to their lunch table, however, Mike was already engaged in a deep conversation about the  _Die Hard_ movies with Eric, so Bella didn't think it would be the most opportune time to flat-out tell him she didn't want to endure the awkwardness of a high school dance as his date. Jessica didn't seem to mind. Her salad fared a lot better for the rest of lunch.

Frankie and Edward weren't at biology class that day, even though Bella had seen them at their lunch table earlier, picking at their food as usual. Anyway, she was secretly relieved. She had no idea how to deal with the Cullensespecially Frankieafter that whole incident yesterday with the superpowers and the cheesy flirting.

Then the teacher announced that they would be pricking their fingers for a blood type lab. And  _oh_ did Bella hate the sight of blood.

Sam, the dark-haired boy whom Bella had to work with since both their partners had gone AWOL, didn't seem to mind blood a bit. He just stuck the needle in there and watched disinterestedly as a bright red bud coagulated on the tip of his index finger. Bella felt like she was going to throw up. "Uh," she said.

Sam glared at her. "What?"

"I'm an O-negative, if anyone asks," Bella mumbled, scrambling from her chair. "I'm going to the nurse."

Mike, who was undoubtedly eavesdropping on their conversation, appeared at Bella's side. "I'll take you there, if you want," he volunteered.

And that's how Bella ended up on a bench some distance away from her biology classroom with Mike Newton sitting uncomfortably by her side as she tucked her face between her knees. When he cleared his throat, she anticipated that he was probably waiting to ask her about the dance. 

She was right. "So..." said Mike, stretching out the syllable like a piece of dough, "I know the girl is supposed to ask the guy for a Sadie Hawkins dance, but...um...do you wanna maybe go with me?"

Bella lifted her head up, peering at him through squinted eyes. "No," she replied bluntly, and she watched his face fall. "Sorry, Mike. I mean, I don't really like you in that way, so."

"We could go as friends," he suggested, clearly still distraught.

"I think that would just make things more awkward," said Bella, trying not to visibly wince at his reaction.

"Are you sure?" he asked, as persistent as a bulldog. "It'll only be awkward if we make it awkward. What if we"

"No means no, Mike."

"Oh. Sorry."

Suddenly, like a godsend, Edward Cullen materialized at the end of the hallway. Under any other circumstances, Edward was less of a godsend, but Bella was honestly desperate to get out of this situation; she would much rather interact with Edward, however weirdly he acted, than comfort Mike, who was essentially a wounded animal.

"What's going on?" asked Edward, without a greeting nor a smile.

Mike straightened and tried to keep his face neutral. He wasn't doing a great job of it. "I was just taking Bella to the nurse," he explained. "She wasn't feeling well during the blood lab."

Edward nodded. "I'll take her," he declared brusquely. "You should go back to class." Then he scooped Bella into his arms in one fluid motion, like she was a giant pillow and not a conscious human being with feelings.

"What the hell?" she shrieked. "Put me down."

"No," said Edward. He turned and began briskly strutting away from Mike, who was gaping at them with his mouth hanging open. Bella squirmed in Edward's arms. There was nothing that made her feel more useless than being carried princess-style against her will.

"Edward, I'm serious," Bella tried again. "I can walk on my own. Please put me down."

Edward ignored her.

By this time they were outside the science building and heading toward what Bella presumed was the nurse's office. She struggled to escape Edward's vise-like grip, but it was like he benched minivans for fun or something; nowhere in his skinny arms did Bella assume there would be so much strength. Nevertheless, she was growing increasingly irritated at him. Her persisting nausea did not help at all. Bella belatedly regretted leaving Mike on that bench.

Uneven footsteps clattered from somewhere behind them. "Put her down, Edward," ordered Frankie Cullen's voice. Bella almost sighed in relief.

Edward neither complied nor slowed down. Frankie caught up with them and grabbed the end of Edward's shirt, forcing him to a halt. Edward sighed. "Stop meddling, Frankie," he growled. "You weren't even there. She was incapable of walking."

"Why don't you let her decide that?" Frankie snapped. Bella watched as Frankie stepped in front of them; never was she happier to see that head of curly hair.

Edward stared at Bella expectantly. Bella shrugged. "I asked you to put me down," she said evenly.

For a moment, it seemed as if Edward would ignore her again. But Frankie glared at him pointedly, and he gingerly set Bella down on the concrete like she was a porcelain doll. "There," he hissed at his sister. "If you're so attuned to her wants and needs, Frankie, why don't you escort her instead?"

"Gladly," Frankie retorted. 

Edward grimaced. He silently turned back the way they came and stalked away, like a cougar escaping a failed hunt.

Bella watched his retreating form. She glanced at Frankie and shook her head. "What the hell was his problem?"

"Sorry," Frankie sighed. "Edward's very...traditionally minded. I don't think I'll ever stop apologizing for him."

"It's the twenty-first century!" Bella exclaimed. "Doesn't he know he can't do things like that anymore?"

Frankie snorted. "Apparently not. He has certain...ideas about gender roles and stuff like that." Her golden eyes twinkled with mirth. "What I'm trying to say is that he's a sexist pig."

Bella let out a surprised laugh. "You're not allowed to blame me if I agree with you."

"I wouldn't dream of it, O Strong, Independent Woman," Frankie chuckled. "By the way, where exactly am I supposed to be escorting you?"

 


End file.
